Stampede
by doc boy
Summary: After getting run over by a bunch of Ryhorns, Ash is fighting for his life, While May reflects on her relationship with the boy she once called friend...
1. Chapter 1 the accident

Stampede

I do not own Pokémon

Ash and May were walking down the road in the forest while looking at a map, trying to find their way.

"According to this map, to nearest town should be right over there…" said Ash and pointed forward.

"Are you sure? All I see is a bunch of bushes",

"Don't worry May. I'm sure it's just a little obstacle", he said and went through the bushes first but fled in terror followed by a loud roar.

"Run, May!" he called out as a horde of Ryhorn came out of the bushes and charged right at them. May shrieked and ran for her life after Ash. They ran as fast as they could but the Ryhorns were gaining on them. When of them took a swipe at May with its horn sending her to the ground several feet away. When she got up she heard Ash scream in pain and was horrified to see the horde of Ryhorn running over him.

"Ash!" she called out as the last Ryhorn passed by and over him. She knelt down beside him to inspect the damage. He was badly hurt and disfigured. His face was swollen, his shirt was torn, his shoulders were dislocated, some of his ribs were sticking out and his left shin was sticking out of his flesh and he was coughing blood.

"Oh my God, Ash!..." she said in horror. He coughed sickly.

"May… I…"

"Don't talk Ash. Rest. I'm gonna get you some help",

He nodded and tried to relax while breathing hoarse hollow breathes. May took out her Pokegear and called for an ambulance. Before long she could hear a helicopter in the distance and saw one approaching them.

"They sent in a chopper?" she wondered aloud.

The helicopter landed in a clearing and two men hurried out with a stretcher and gently placed Ash on top of it and carried him back to the chopper who still had his engines on.

"I'm going with you", she said to the medics.

"Then get on now. We can't stay here. Your friend is in really bad shape", she nodded and climbed on board and closed the door behind her and the helicopter took to the skies. While in the air, Ash was hooked to an infusion bag and she looked at him as he struggled to keep his breath. She held his hand and gave it a small kiss.

"Hang in there Ash. You're gonna be okay. They're gonna fix you up", she said kindly. One of the medics simply looked at her with a look of either serious skeptics or pity. He turned to the pilot.

"Tell the OR to have their best doctors and equipment standing by",

"Roger", he said and pressed a button on his headset.

"Pteallburg tower, this is chopper one we have a code zero, repeat code zero. Request to have OR on standby with best personal and equipment possible",

"Roger chopper one, operating room will be standing by",

"Roger", said the pilot and began his decent. When the landing gear barely touched the pad the doors swung open and Ash was wheeled into intensive care and May hurried after him but was stopped outside the operating room.

"You can't go in there miss", a doctor stopped her.

"But he's my friend!"

"I'm sorry but I can't allow you in there",

"But he's my friend and he needs me! He's Ash, he can't die! He just can't…", she sobbed and broke down in tears. The doctor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I understand your frustration miss, but if you want your friend to survive you have to let us do our job, okay?"

She sniffed and looked at him.

"But you can fix him right?"

The doctor thought for a moment and bit his lip.

"I don't know. But I'll do my best. You have my word", he said and he walked in and the doors closed behind him. May just looked at them sadly and walked towards one of the chairs while dragging her feet and sat down with a sigh. Pictures of Ash and the fond memories of the time they spent together began to flash through her mind. Like the time he made soup for her when she was sick, or when he cheered her up when she was sad, or when he cheered her up after losing her first contest. Then her mind was filled with the image of the doctors covering him with a white sheet and she wailed in sadness and buried her face in her palms, beginning to fear the worst…

To be continued…

Ash has taken a pretty bad hit. Is he gonna survive? And how is this going to affect her relationship with Ash? All will be revealed later on. Stay tuned guys…


	2. Chapter 2 heartache

Chapter 2 heartache

Ash has been in surgery for seven hours. May has been so tense over the last few hours she wore herself out and dozed off in her chair. Several more hours have passed. At some point a doctor came out and approached her.

"Miss?"

She snorted.

"Umm… miss?"

She blinked her eyes open.

"Wha?" when she noticed him she became more awake. She stood up.

"How is he?"

"He'll live",

She let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. What's his condition?"

"Not so good. We put his shoulders and bones back in place, but it's gonna take a while for them to heal and for his swelling to go down. He's lucky to be alive",

"But he is going to recover right?"

"Hopefully. Keep in mind though that he suffered a bad concussion. He might have a temporary case of amnesia",

"Is he going to recover from it?"

"He should",

She sighed with relief.

"Good. Thank you doctor. Can I go see him?"

"Yes, but keep it down. He's still in pretty bad shape",

"Of course", said May and went to her friend's bedside. She looked at him and her heart cracked. He had bandages on his chest and head and on his leg as well. She sighed sadly and sat down beside him. She placed her hand on his palm and rubbed it slightly as he slept. May would spend the next few hours by his side until morning came. At around ten in the morning he woke up with a groan.

"Ash! How do you feel?" she asked kindly. He looked at her with a slightly dim expression and asked.

"How… how do you know my name?"

May paled.

"You… you don't remember me?"

"I don't think so. You are pretty cute though",

May blushed and sweatdropped.

 _"He's still charming I see…"_

"Ash it's me May remember? May Maple? We've been traveling together across the Hoen region?"

"We were? Last thing I remember is… ahh!" he groaned in pain and grabbed his temple.

"What is it?"

"I can't remember",

"Do you remember me?"

"Not really…"

May bit her lip and ran out of the room in tears, leaving Ash very confused. She ran and ran and ran till her feet gave out and she collapsed on the grass and sat up as she hugged her knees in misery as she sobbed.

 _"He doesn't remember me… Ash doesn't remember me… it can't be… he's my best friend. And I… I think I…"_ she sobbed as another tear dripped down her face and onto the forest floor. An hour later, May has returned to the hospital and sat down by Ash again.

"Are you okay girl? I didn't mean to offend you",

She sniffed and rubbed her eye.

"No, it's okay I should be the one to apologize. I'm just sad that you don't remember me. We've been through so much together…"

Ash looked at her sympathetically.

"Anything I can do?"

This gave May an idea.

"Yes but you have to trust me", she said.

"Okay…" he said timidly.

"Close your eyes", she instructed and he did. She leaned forward slowly towards him and she could feel her face heating up. When she was close enough she placed a soft kiss on his lips and detached after that and pulled back to look at him. His eyes were still closed.

"Ash?"

He didn't respond.

"Ash?" she said again.

"What?" he snorted and opened his eyes. He looked at her.

"May, hi", he said. She smiled with joy.

"Ash, you remember me?"

"Of course I remember you silly. You're my best friend",

Joy and elation spread across May's face as she embraced him in a hug.

"Thank goodness", was all she said. After a while she started to cry. Being a little clueless about how to handle this, all Ash did was place a comforting hand on her back and patted her softly a few times.

"I was so worried Ash. And scared. Scared you were gonna die. Scared you wouldn't remember me…" she sobbed onto his shoulder. He rubbed the back of her head.

"It's okay May… I'm fine now. I'm okay…" he said and she sniffed and wrapped her arms around his neck ass he cradled her in his arms.

"I love you Ash. I really do love you… don't you ever slip away from me again…."

"I won't. And I love you too May. I love you too…" she smiled and turned to look at him and he gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. He used his bruised fingers to rub the tears off her cheeks and leaned in for a kiss. Slowly his face inched closer to hers as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her for the first time... it was a kiss full love and passion, compassion and exhilaration. May wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened and he placed his arms around her waist. Finally, they broke apart and May rested her head on his chest as she slowly drifted into a much needed sleep as Ash stroked her hair till they both were in la, la land together as a happy couple…

To be continued…

Well there was a happy development. What will happen next? Read to find out…

Peace out…


	3. Chapter 3 homecoming

Chapter 3 homecoming

After a week in the hospital, Delia took pick Ash and May home to Pallet town so he could recover, after spending most of the week with them. Ash and May were sitting in the backseat while his mother drove. Both were exhausted from the past week so they fell asleep with their heads leaning on each other. Delia smiled at the two as they slept. When they reached Ash's house, Delia stopped the car and turned it off. Seeing how exhausted the two were, she didn't have the heart to wake them up. So she unbuckled Ash's seatbelt first and carried him to his room. She placed him in bed, covered him in a blanket, and kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well Ashy…" she said and went back to the car to get his wheelchair, crutches and medication. Then she went back for May, placed her on the living room couch, and covered her with her own blanket. She would place her in the guest room but she didn't want her to get frightened if she wakes up alone in an unfamiliar place. If she wakes up in their living room when she's there, it might scare her less. Once the kids were in bed, Delia went to work. She began to cook a nice dinner for the three of them and made a desert she knew they both loved strawberry Jell-O.

By the time, the potatoes were ready, it was dusk, and May was just coming to. She groaned slightly and as opened her eyes.

"Where am I?" she asked as she looked around, trying to identify her surroundings.

"Hey, May. How do you feel?" asked Delia as she appeared from the kitchen.

"I'm feeling a little better, thank you. How did I get in here?" she asked as she sat up to face her.

"I carried you and Ash inside when we arrived. You two were completely exhausted so I didn't have the heart to wake you up."

May smiled at her.

"Thank you Ms. Ketchum, that was very thoughtful of you."

"Think nothing of it May. Glad you're feeling better, but please, call me Delia." She smiled. Then May remembered something.

"Where's Ash?"

"He's asleep in his room. The painkillers the doctors gave him before we left the hospital really knocked him out. Would you be kind enough to check on him for me?"

"Sure thing Delia." She said and walked up to his room. She knocked softly but heard no answer. She quietly walked in and found Ash sleeping soundly in bed. She smiled sweetly at the sight. She sat down on the side of his bed and watched him sleep. At some point, she wanted to wake him up, see how he feels and spend some time with him. But she felt like he could use the rest, at least until dinner is ready. So she got up, left the room and closed the door behind her. When she came downstairs, Delia asked her.

"How is he?"

"Sleeping like a baby." she reassured.

"Good. That means he's not in pain. Why don't you sit down and relax May? I'll let you know when dinner is ready."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"You can wake up Ash and help him down when things are ready. Okay?"

"Sounds good." Said May and sat down on the couch. She found herself fixated on a picture on the wall of Ash and his mother. She smiled at it and continued to stare at it as her mind went blank. Only after a few calls did she hear Delia call her name.

"May, could you please wake up Ash for me and tell him Dinner's ready?"

"Of course." She said and walked up the stairs towards his room. When she was there, she sat down by his bed again, caressed his cheek slightly as he slowly woke up, and smiled at her.

"That's new." He teased and she giggled.

"What? You think fourteen is too young an age to flirt with my boyfriend?" she asked.

"No, I just think it's nice." He said and she chuckled.

"Come on lover boy. Your Mom says dinner is ready." She said and helped him sit up.

"Sounds good to me…," he said as she grabbed his crutches and helped him into them and they walked out towards the hallway. When they reached the stairs, May looped the crutches in her one arm and helped Ash down the stairs with the other, since his leg was in a cast. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Ash's mother greeted them and she gave him a big smooch on the forehead.

"How're you feeling sweetie?" she asked him.

"Better. Thanks Mom."

"Glad to hear it. Come on and sit down. I made your favorite dishes. You too May." She said as the family sat down to eat their dinner. While eating Ash tensed up slightly.

"Hey Mom, while we're here I'd like to ask for a favor…" he began.

"Of course dear."

"What it be alright, if May stays with us while I recover? I enjoy her company and I would like to continue travelling with her once I get better. Besides I don't want her to go back to Hoenn on her own after what happened…"

"Certainly Ash. You can stay with us just as long as you want May." She said and May smiled with a slight blush on her face.

"Thanks Delia, that's very kind of you." She said and then turned to whisper something in his ear.

"How did you know I was worried about that?" she asked.

"What? Don't you think I know my own girlfriend?" he said with a smirk as they exchanged a kiss, but forgot they were in front of Delia. When they realized that, they pulled back and blushed. They turned to look at her to find her smiling.

"You made the right choice, you two." She said, her smile growing. Soon the whole house was filled with sounds of joy and laughter…

To be continued…

So I'm sorry about the long update. I didn't realize how long it's been since the last one so I'll try to stay on top of things with this one.

And yes, Ash and May are fourteen. I know I didn't mention their ages till now, but I figured it would be more natural if they were teenagers

Anyway, Ash is feeling better and is on the road to recovery. Plus, Delia now knows their little secret. What will become of their relationship and will Ash make a full recovery? Stay tuned to find out…

Reviews are most welcome…

Peace out…


End file.
